Restaurants
offers ice-cream flavors such as blueberry cheesecake swirl, bubble gumball, red velvet and pistachio nut, in just about every configuration imaginable: sundaes, floats, by-thequart, frozen creamsicles, and with housemade waffle cones. There are also fruity Italian ice flavors from mango’rita to blue raspberry, as well as Thai iced teas and fudgy Oreo cupcakes.
The Food Truck Store, 1417 NE 26th St., Wilton Manors; thefoodtruckstore.com:
Don’t let the name fool you: The Food Truck Store is actually a burger boîte. This fast-casual restaurant out of Argentina is the brainchild of Rodo Camara and has another stateside location in North Miami. The Wilton Manors spot officially debuted Feb. 20 to bring the best “American-style burgers to the sunny South, paying homage to the iconic classics you know and love with some next-level gourmet twists,” according to the eatery’s marketing.
Dos Amigos Tacos, 10660 Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 170, Wellington; 561-5084402; DosAmigosTacos. com:
Back in late 2021, two employees from Lucille’s Bad to the Bone BBQ at Delray Marketplace peeled off to open their first fast-casual taqueria next door in the same strip mall. Now cofounders Derek Mazer and chef Michael Jameson have expanded Dos Amigos into its second location, which debuted Jan. 28 at Wellington Green Square. The centerpiece of their menu, naturally, are its 19 housemade tacos ranging from familiar (chicken, carne asada) to trendy (quesabirria, roasted cauliflower) to adventurous (Philly cheesesteak, meatball Parmesan on a mozzarella-crusted tortilla). There are also quesadillas, burritos and salad bowls.
Riko’s Pizza, 14 N. Federal Highway, Pompano Beach; 754-220-0201; RikosPizza. com:
This fan-favorite Connecticut export shuffled onto the corner of Atlantic Boulevard and North Federal Highway in late January with a style that’s fairly uncommon to local palates: ultra-thin pizza with blistered cheese, sauce and toppings that extend out to the edges of its cracker-like crust. (Think Chicago thincrust without the square cuts.) The pizzeria, from local franchisees Jordan and Stefanija Mintz, is the second Florida offshoot of the Stamford, Conn., original (a Tequesta location opened in 2022). Its signature is the Hot Oil Pizza, a plain pie topped with spicy, housemade oil and Serrano “stinger” peppers. There are also oven-baked wings with five distinctive sauces, Riko’s Dogs (gussied-up versions of pigs in a blanket) and 10 pie flavors, from New Haven-esque Clam Pizza (clams, bacon, basil, chopped garlic) to Hawaiian to Nashville hot chicken.
Even Keel Fish Shack, 1111 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; 754-7014895; EvenKeelFish. com:
Chef-owners Dave MacLennan and Brad Phillips have docked on ritzy restaurant row Las Olas Boulevard with the second location of their seafood spot, which debuted in mid-December. This is the owners’ second foray into Fort Lauderdale: the flagship Even Keel began its life on North Federal Highway under the mast of restaurateur Dean James Max before it jumped ship to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea in late 2020. A hub for fresh local fish and greens (they source from Triar Seafood in Hollywood and Swank Specialty Produce in Loxahatchee), the second location will serve stone crabs and house-smoked fish dip, beer-battered spiny lobster bites and conch beignets, and larger entrees including an adult crab grilled cheese (with brie, truffle,
blue crab and apple butter), clams carbonara and grilled swordfish.
The Blue Door, 5700 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach; 561-3602064; TheBlueDoorWPB. com:
One of the many new restaurants making West Palm Beach’s SoSo District (South of Southern) not so so-so, this Mediterranean coastal sit-down that opened Jan. 24 is the creation of five owners — Max Ricci, Michael Katzenberg, executive manager Tamara Magalhães, executive chef Nano Crespo and interior designer Sara Ricci. With an all-white color scheme (except for, you guessed it, a blue door), the bistro offers a slim menu of 23 items including gnocchi with house sausage and porcini, lamb chops with tzatziki and cucumber salad, seared scallops in tomato Provençal and Maine lobster tagliolini.
Mia Rosebud, 150 E. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton; 561-462-3000; RosebudRestaurants. com:
This famed Chicagoland restaurant and Italian steakhouse, blessed over the decades by the likes of Tom Selleck, Tom Hanks, James Woods, Bono, James Gandolfini, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, has
come to town. The first Florida outpost — its 10th location overall — had a soft opening on Feb. 19. At 7,700 square feet, the 196-seat restaurant (164 indoors, 32 on outdoor terrace) offers an open-kitchen design. Chicago restaurateur Alex Dana’s Little Italy eatery, which originally debuted in 1976, specializes in huge portions of Italian classics including cavatelli cacio e pepe and rigatoni alla vodka, along with N.Y. strip steaks, brick chicken and veal cutlets, tiramisu and ricotta cheesecake.
KAO Sushi & Ramen, 1390 Weston Road, Weston; 954-699-4233; KAOSushiandRamen.com:
The Argentinean owners behind Hallandale Beach’s first shipping-container restaurant, KAO Bar & Grill, opened this Japanese-focused spinoff in Weston’s Country Isles Plaza in early January. Everywhere are nods to Matias and Marco Pagano’s origins, including the Buenos Aires roll (salmon, rice, cream cheese, sesame sauce) and tres leches sponge cake. (These items are also served at the Paganos’ first restaurant, KAO Sushi & Grill in Coral Gables.) The menu at KAO Sushi & Ramen also features tonkatsu ramen loaded with macerated
beef or pork belly, sauteed noodles and tuna or crispy shrimp poke, and pork belly or caramelized barbecued beef bao buns.
Pura Vida, 2364 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale; 754-345-1851; PuraVidaMiami.com:
This fast-expanding, Miami-hatched, all-day cafe owned by Omer and Jennifer Horev debuted its second Fort Lauderdale location within the River Market strip mall on Dec. 28, bringing its total number of locations to 22. The health-conscious chain offers dishes such as pasture-raised egg sandwiches, salads, raw organic acai bowls, wraps and gluten-free vegan sweets.
Playa Bowls, 401 E. Las Olas Blvd, Unit 185, Fort Lauderdale; playabowls.com:
There’s a beach vibe with this fast-casual restaurant. After all, the concept started back in 2014 as a pop-up food stand on the Jersey Shore. Now the brand is known for its plant-based ingredients and for its sustainability efforts (they say they use reclaimed building materials, LED lighting and recycled/ biodegradable bowls, spoons and lids). This location is owned by Darrell Casoria (raised in Fort Lauderdale) and Ricky Arguello and opened
Jan. 13.
The Kebab Shop, 11225 Miramar Parkway, Miramar; 754-287-1313; TheKebabShop.com:
This California-based Mediterranean eatery specializes in customizable kebabs in grilled and rotisserie forms, and they’re served in a wrap, in a box or on a plate. Its first Florida outpost officially opened in early February inside the Miramar Park Place strip mall on Red Road, joining a recently opened Flanigan’s and a soon-to-open Duck Donuts. The menu also has lamb, beef, chicken thighs, saffron chicken tenderloin doner, along with steak and falafel and “crave fries” (topped with feta, garlic yogurt and pickled onions). The chain has carved out 34 locations in California and Texas; future South Florida outposts are expected in Coral Springs (1280 N. University Drive) and Boynton Beach (1780 N. Congress Ave., Suite 200).
CLOSED
B.C. Cafe, Davie, 4801 S. University Drive, Suite 123; BCTacos.com:
After 11 years of breakfast ramen and T-Rex tacos, the caveman-themed food truckturned brick-and-mortar taqueria and burger joint in Davie abruptly closed in late February. “Thank you for a great 11 years,” Brett Chiavari, the “B.C.” in B.C. Cafe, posted in a Feb. 26 video on social media. “The food prices were getting out of hand, and I wanted to spend more time on the kids.” Chiavari’s restaurant began its life as the B.C. Tacos truck on the corner of Cypress Creek Road and Interstate 95, where he slung bowls, burritos and tacos filled with “prehistoric” pulled pork and “stone age” shrimp before opening his first acclaimed storefront in 2013. B.C. eventually added breakfast ramen (pork belly, Chinese sausage, scallion pancake) and other brunch items, along with salads and nachos.